Last-Minute Social & Content Ideas for the Holidays

You are already bogged down with orders, inventory and the headaches of running your business. So it’s understandable that thinking about a holiday content marketing plan sounds daunting. So, we created a quick cheat sheet you can peruse to find quick and easy ways to keep your holiday content flowing and the orders coming in!

Identify Your 12 Bestsellers — This sounds big, but isn’t. Take 15 minutes right now and jot down your top 12 holiday gifts. These are easy best sellers of which people just need to be reminded. If you need a little help, you can always sign into your ShipStation account and look at the “Top 5” product lists we create for you in the Insights area of the app. Then, start planning brief social posts that highlights those products. You can shape all the other pointers below around these 12 products.

Remind Customers of Shipping Deadlines with Humor and Urgency — It doesn’t hurt to tweet out how many days are left until shipping rates go up. Is your brand tone on the quirky side? Do you have graphics skills? You could do a funny play on an advent calendar and make a fun countdown graphics regarding shipping deadlines, or use simple graphics like this from iStock.

Use the Season – Use the 12 Days of Christmas or the 8 Days of Hanukkah to your advantage. Offer daily deals or coupons, and feature some of your best products. Leverage this topic on your blog and on every social outlet you employ.

Showcase Your Holiday Specials – Maybe those same 12 items you brainstormed above are your holiday specials. Organize your website by categories such as “Gifts for Him/Her,” “Popular Items,” etc. Use social media at least twice a week and e-newsletters to remind people of your business and your special deals.

Tell Them What to Buy – Start offering up gift ideas and suggestions NOW. Prepackage hot sellers or often-sold-together items and take a new, festive shot of the bundle to use on your site and in social posts.

Create Offers on Shipping Discounts – All it takes is some help from a photo-editing software like PicMonkey or Canva to make an eye-catching blog or social post banner reminding people of your special offers. For example, offering upgraded 2-3 day shipping at no extra cost for orders placed on December 17 could persuade some people to purchase when they may not have otherwise.

Build Urgency into Your Headlines, Tweets and Facebook Posts – Guilt is a powerful motivator. Remind people they are often close to missing the cutoff dates: “There’s still time…”” “It’s not too late…” etc.

Create Social Content Based on Holiday Stereotypes. In late November you can buy stock images of archetypes like “grandma,” “the boss,” “the new girlfriend,” or “the Secret Santa Exchange,” In addition to the picture, briefly suggest gifts for each person or occasion.

Offer Gift Cards. – Do you offer gift cards or e-gifts? Remind those lucrative last-minute shoppers with social media posts that they can still get gifts.